Rules and guidelines for selective laser melting process

• Main Author: Toh, Jorene Xin Ling
• Other Authors: Wong Chee How
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/75235
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Additive manufacturing (AM) processes have benefitted many industries and is widely used in aerospace industry as it has the capabilities of fabricating complex geometries and lightweight structures. In order to produce high quality product, design guidelines and manufacturing restrictions for AM have to be considered. However, the lack of standards in AM process has resulted in AM process being unable to generalize as a mainstream manufacturing technique. As such, a clearer understanding is needed to further investigate on the factors affecting the geometrical accuracy, feasibility and printability of various features. As metal-based AM are more beneficial and valuable, it is more expected to be used as practical components which will then be further improved. In this report, existing benchmark artifacts have been reviewed while various features have been discussed and assessed on the capabilities and limitations of metal-based AM. The purpose of designing benchmark artifacts is to achieve the best quality of various features. This report focuses on designing test artifacts to characterize the capabilities and limitations of selective laser melting (SLM) process. The design of the test artifacts include various designs to evaluate features printed with small dimensions as well as the minimum angle for overhanging surfaces. Overhanging surfaces using non-contact support structures have also been evaluated.